Reed Going for Four Straight at San Diego Supercross

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 8, 2006) – Yamaha’s Chad Reed will be
going for a rare four-peat in the San Diego Supercross this Saturday,
Feb. 11 at Qualcomm Stadium. Reed has yet to score a victory in the
first five rounds of this year’s Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series,
but last year used his San Diego Supercross victory to launch a strong
second half of the season charge that saw him make a serious bid for
the championship. Reed, a 24-year-old Australian, came up just short of
catching Ricky Carmichael, but this time around he hopes to win back
the AMA Supercross title he last held in 2004.

Reed comes into San Diego this Saturday ranked second in the series
standings; 13 points behind defending champ Carmichael. He’s gotten to
that position by way of four runners-up finishes in the five races
leading up to this weekend’s event. The environs of Qualcomm Stadium
have always been good to Reed. He’s won every race at the stadium since
he moved up to the AMA Supercross class full time in 2003. After taking
second in Anaheim last weekend Reed said he felt he was making progress.

“I just need to find a little more speed,” Reed said. “It’s simple
things like a bit faster cornering, or cutting out little errors during
the races. So far things are better than they could have been. I had a
bad result in San Francisco, but am still in second in the series. If I
can make slight improvements in the coming rounds I think I’ll be able
to build on that. San Diego’s been a turning point for me before. Maybe
it will be again this time around.”

While Reed is still looking to step up in San Diego, series leader
Ricky Carmichael is hoping to build on the momentum he holds. The No. 4
Suzuki rider won for the third time this season last weekend in Angel
Stadium. Carmichael has opened up the biggest lead of the season,
putting a little breathing room between himself and rivals Reed and
James Stewart. Surprisingly Carmichael, who is a four-time AMA
Supercross champ, hasn’t won at San Diego since 2001. He seems inspired
by the challenge from Reed and Stewart.

“So far this season has been the one that Supercross fans have been
waiting for,” Carmichael said. “James [Stewart] has the speed, Chad
[Reed] has been consistent, while I’ve been plugging away and getting
victories where I can. It’s a long season and a lot of things can
happen. I look forward to another good battle in San Diego.”

Stewart has been the fastest rider at most races this season, but that
speed has come at a cost. The Kawasaki factory rider crashed three
times on a slick, hard-packed Anaheim Supercross track last weekend and
fell to third in the standings, 14 points behind Carmichael, after a
season worst eighth-place. The youngest of the “Big Three” will be
looking to get back on track this weekend in his first San Diego
appearance in the premier Supercross class.

Another rider to watch for in San Diego is Carmichael’s Suzuki teammate
Ivan Tedesco. The two-time AMA Supercross Lites West champ is starting
to find his speed on the bigger bikes. He scored his first AMA
Supercross podium finish last weekend and hopes to build on that
success.

“Tonight was a great night for me and for Suzuki,” said Tedesco after
the Anaheim race. “It’s been a goal of mine all year to get on
the box and I finally put it all together tonight and was able to put
in 20 consistent laps on my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. I’m not used to
running up front yet but I’m getting more comfortable with it. I’m
looking forward to taking this to San Diego next weekend.”

Former San Diego Supercross winners David Vuillemin and Jeremy McGrath are also expected to be in the field Saturday.

Saturday will be the last AMA Supercross Lites West round before a
two-month break while the series moves back east. The Lites West Series
is one of the best in years with the top four riders running within
seven points in the standings after five rounds. Monster Pro Circuit
Kawasaki rider Grant Langston holds a one-point lead over Honda’s
Andrew Short after Langston earned his second win of the season last
weekend in Anaheim.

“Winning races is the best way to pick up the championship, and that is
what I plan on doing for the rest of the season,” said Langston after
taking the victory last Saturday. “Our team has been working hard this
season, especially after last week’s race, where there was mud
everywhere and things were a mess. This was an important win for me and
for Kawasaki.”

Doors open to the public Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium at 12:30 pm and
the main event starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available at the Box
Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, all participating Yamaha Dealers or
charge by phone at 619-220-8497.